OLD POST ALERT! This is an older post and although you might find some useful tips, any technical or publishing information is likely to be out of date. Please click on Start Here on the menu bar above to find links to my most useful articles, videos and podcast. Thanks and happy writing! – Joanna Penn
It's National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), and I'm working on a new book in a new series which is all very exciting!
This month, thousands of people will write 50,000 words, but these will not be fully formed books, for this is an outpouring of first draft creative material and that is a hugely important distinction.
First draft material is allowed to be crap, and often is and it's meant to be so.
So don't worry! A perfect sentence does not appear fully formed on the page, and it is not followed by another one, and another, to create a perfect story in one go. That's not how writing works – but it is the myth of writing which we must dispel.
“Writing is rewriting,” as the great Michael Crichton said. Remember that, and then go write 50,000 words of first draft material that you can shape into something marvelous later.
So how do you get your first draft material from your head onto the page? Here are some of my tips.
(1) Set a word count goal
This is why NaNoWriMo works so well for people, as you have to write around 1700 words per day in order to ‘win'. Many pro-authors, like Stephen King, have a goal of 2000 per day, even birthdays and Christmas.
If you don't have some kind of goal, you won't achieve anything. I really believe that. It also breaks the work down into manageable chunks.
For a full length novel, say 80,000 words @2000 words per day = 40 days of consistent writing
For a novella, say 30,000 words @2000 words per day = 15 days of consistent writing
Of course, you have the editing process after that, but you can't edit a blank page. So set your word count goal, and get writing.
[Personally, I always use word count goals in the first draft writing phase, but I don't do that many fiction words every day of the year.]
(2) Write Or Die
This awesome software at WriteOrDie.com is a way to burst through the internal editor that snipes at you as you write a load of crap in your first draft phase.
The software allows you to set a goal in time or word count. I started with 20 minutes, and then you have to keep typing or it will play some psycho violin music, or the screen will start turning red, or in kamikaze mode, your words start disappearing. At the end of the session when you reach your goal, trumpets sound and you can save the text.
I highly recommend this if you are struggling. This is how I wrote 20,000 words in my first NaNoWriMo and created the core of Pentecost. Maybe 2000 words survived the culling/editing but you have to write a lot of crap to shape it into something good (at least when you're starting out anyway!)
(3) Scrivener
I wax lyrical about Scrivener all the time, but it has some cool productivity tools. You can set Project Targets, so 50,000 words for example, and you can also set Session Targets, so mine is set at 2000 words. Every time you sit down to write, you can have those targets floating by your work and the progress bar moves so you can see how its going. Very motivating.
I also like to put as many scenes in as possible before I start writing, so I have somewhere to start each day. So right now, I have 11 one-line scene descriptions that I can fill in as I go along. I will change them, add to them etc but it means that whenever I sit down for a writing session, I can start filling in the blanks if I don't know what else to do.
There's also a Compose mode so you can fill the whole screen with a blank piece of paper. Keeps you focused 🙂
(4) Set a timer for focus sessions, and use Freedom or other software to turn the internet off
As part of my daily productivity tools, I set my (iphone) timer for 90 minutes and then I write, or edit, or work on a specific project for that long. But you can start with 10 mins or 15 or whatever you can manage.
The important thing is not to get distracted in that time, and DO NOT check the internet or twitter or your email or make a cup of tea or anything. You can use software like Freedom to stop you accessing the ‘net if you really can't resist without help.
(5) Get up really early and work while your brain is still half asleep
When I wrote my first novel, Pentecost, while working full time, I used to get up at 5am and write for an hour before work.
Johnny B. Truant recently did this to write 2 novellas in 2 months (although he started at 4am some days – ouch.)
I think the early morning helps because your brain isn't polluted by everything that has happened in the day, and your internal editor is still asleep. However, this totally depends on whether you're a night-owl and your family situation etc etc … so find your own groove, but the point is, you need to schedule some time that you don't have normally to get stuff done.
[Here's another productivity tip. I got rid of the TV nearly 5 years ago, about the time that I started writing, blogging and changing my life – there's some correlation there!]
Trust the process of emergence
I heard this in an interview with Brene Brown on Jonathan Fields' Goodlife Project, and it is totally true.
Even if you plot your books, sometimes you won't know what is coming until the words appear on the page. Something happens when you commit to the page, to the word count goal and you write through the frustration and the annoyance and the self-criticism.
Creativity emerges. Ideas emerge. Original thought emerges.
Something happens – but only if you trust emergence.
You can see the process work itself through by checking out the journey of my first novel. It starts in NaNoWriMo 2009 with my first draft material and ends with 40,000 books sold nearly 2 years later. The core idea completely changed 🙂 but I hope it will encourage you to see that first drafts are just the beginning.
If you don't force yourself to get the first draft material down, you will never have anything to work with. So fight resistance and get it done.
How do you get your first draft material written? Please leave a comment below.
Image top: Bigstock Shakespeare, Flickr CC Sunrise by Pilottage
Grant Shanks aka Andrew Grant says
Interesting discussion. I have authored 17 full-length books, ten of those novels.
I do creative writing in the mornings and spade work (editing/revision/research in the afternoons). I believe in getting the basic tale down and not worrying about too much technical detail or sloppy writing. I believe it is essential to capture the essence of the story as quickly as possible while it is fresh in my mind. In doing so I use a broad brush approach. Once the first draft is down I do my in-depth research (what gun, what vehicle, location work-up etc). I then generally go back and re-write the first third to fifty percent of the initial draft adding in the characteristics the protagonists have developed by story’s end. I insert the technical data at this point. Once this phase is over I print off the mss and start work on it with pen in hand. I believe editing on paper at this stage is much better than on-screen. Currently I am editing a 140k novel.
Brita Dore says
Thanks your comments were mòst helpful.
Maegan Prentice says
Thanks Grant. The research thing has been tripping me up. Knowing something exists I become distracted by my natural curiosity. I get that I can set up a scene without the little details (or even some bigger ones).
Crystal says
Hello everyone! I just discovered this website thanks to my friend who knows I just finally turned to writing full-time after a lifetime of wanting to publish my writing. I hope to reach that goal by the end of 2014 though I do not yet know how to do that. I am right now just trying to complete my manuscript. I have several projects that are works in progress including a children’s story, collection of poetry, and a fantasy novel, though right now my attention is on writing about my experience with a debilitating illness Narcolepsy, though I am only 26 and for many years had no idea what was wrong with me.
It is extremely helpful to hear from those who have already successfully published, have found their “niche”, and seem to know what works for them. They discovered their own process. That is beautiful and I applaud you! Thank you Joanna, Ahmad, and Andrew for sharing. Also, Ahmad, that is a wonderful storyline and sounds great! I have a specific question for Andrew, and others who really are nailing their writing goals in terms of productivity and meeting goals. I struggle with mental stamina, endurance, and concentration. Is this “easy” (not an issue) for you, or do you have tricks or aids that you use to help you to keep going. Also, how do you handle life’s other responsibilities?(Sorry if this is personal but it is something else I struggle with and am very curious). What I mean by that is, by dedicating so much time to the writing (that is inspirational and I applaud you), how to you maintain your other obligations. . . paying bills, cleaning up, groceries, cooking, family, etc. Sometimes, I feel like “life” gets in the way because these other things need to be done and take up time, energy, and attention. In other words, they are huge distractions. Do you have lots of support, or are the other responsibilities just not that urgent for you, or are you great at time management/efficiency (I am hugely lacking in this area)? Any and all tips would be very helpful. Thanks! Also, since I’m new to this website, and this is the first article I’ve read, so forgive me if these answers are in another article. I haven’t looked at it all yet. Thank you!
Kinza Sheikh says
I just started to get serious on writing at the beginning of this year. And sadly am still stuck in a rut, with nowhere to go. I think I will just write like crazy as you have suggested once, then after finishing a jargon (novel) I will see what I can do from this point on.
I guess I am stressing myself too much for a beginner.
Charles J. WilliamsSr.bishopcjwilliamssr@yahoo.com says
I am writing a book about my life from childhood to adulthood.
I am a 72 yr old African American. This book will cover the time from my birth to the present.
Charles
Brita Dore says
Your book sounds fascinating good luck.
Evangelia Papaelia says
I am currently preparing the outline for my new nanowrimo participation. I also participated last year for the first time, I was not so organised but I managed 50018 words by November 27. This year I am hoping for a better draft. I like your material very much, I live in Greece the Greek islands butour access to resources is very difficult. Thank you.
Joanna Penn says
I find most of my resources online these days, Evangelia, so we all have access to those 🙂 All the best with NaNo!
Edward Antrobus says
Everybody’s favorite advice for increasing productivity seems to be waking up an hour earlier. I gave that a shot, but it turns out that coherent thoughts just don’t happen for me at 4am.
Nathalie M.L. Römer says
Hi Joanna,
I only started to use Scrivener a few days ago, and you got me totally hooked on this software in a few short days. I posted on another page here how I “went from scribbler to scrivener”, which refers to the fact I got an A4 notebook filled front to back with notes for my current novel I am working on (my second one), and notes for each and every idea I came up with for further books. Once I opened that floodgate of “being a writer” there was no stopping me in terms of coming up with ideas for books. Some of the ideas I want to get written asap as they might prove interesting stories to read.
Anyway, in terms of Scrivener and first draft writing, how would you recommend doing that first draft. I watched your video about the software (more than once to help me figure out the software somewhat), and I find myself struggling in terms of determining what is draft and what is research or character notes. Most of my written notes consist of single lines of text that take the approach of “this happens and then this happens and then she’s going to say this and he’s reacting like so and so” (all this in 5-6 lines btw).
I am actually now wondering how the hell I managed to do my first published novel simply from all these one-liners and the now (in)famous 1600-word short story it began with (of which I commonly say “It started as a short story”). Can I treat that 1600-word short story as having been a draft?
When I was making my many notes, I used the bullet point method to determine most of the stuff relating to things in the book, then a pink high lighter to mark off when I mention it in the book. Also I use the concept used in movie credits for characters usually (when it says “In Order of Appearance”) for planning an appearance of one-off characters in the book.
Anyway, in comment to the post here’s how I do things (the numbering relates to each point raised in the article):
1) I am not a touch typist. Never learned how to be one, and because of that the topic of “how much can I write?” was a contentious one for me. I suggest to use one of those online typing speed testing sites to actually get an average speed (use 2-3 for a proper average as each do things different). Then half that speed and set that as your comfortable typing speed.
It claimed I could type about 20-22 words per minute, it I set it to 10 words a minute – this was to account for pauses, possible writers block (or writers reboot I tend to call it), and delays or interruptions.
I started the proper writing of my book (see my website for it), around mid-June 2015 when I actually settled down in my new home, and I completed work on it around end of January 2016, writing an average of 6-7 hours a day every day (I get restless when I don’t write on a day). The book I wrote is 257 thousand words approximately.
Work out for yourself if you like how fast I wrote it. 🙂
2) Although I did not have any tools for assisting me in writing until perhaps the last few weeks or so, I did set a goal, word count amount to achieve, etc. I suggest for new authors to start with a low goal, and slowly increase it by about 10% every 2-3 weeks. I can now easily sit writing here for 10 hours in a day (book, blog, drafts, ideas, etc.) and still not be tired of it.
3) Converted Scrivener evangelist here…. I think that says it all!
4 and 5) I do this somewhat differently, and take the “on a diet approach here” which usually says that an occasional snack or sweet tooth is okay. I can comfortably work 14 hours a day without getting tired of it, and as I benefit of being someone who does not watch much television anyway, I find it easy to stay focused on my work.
My day consists of 12 hours of bookwriting duties, and 2 hours for other stuff (checking emails, Twitter, etc.). I start the day with 4 hours of edits, because doing this first allows me to check it with a fresh mind. I then do the first 30 minutes of “sweet tooth time” where I do my blog updates and website updating. Then it’s the first 4 hour of actual writing, followed by another sweet tooth 30 minutes, and the final 4 hours consists of draft writing, character edits, and other work (both of the current book I am writing, as well as other books). The final hour of the day is spent researching the internet for relevant information (I am in need of a lot of this for four of the books I am working on).
Finally I would say that you need to trust what you are writing as an author. I cannot remember the author who said but he said “When you write, you write about what you experienced in your life. Experience life to its fullest, and you always have something to write about…” (I guess that applies to you and your travelling, Joanna). These words were said perhaps 15 years ago during a television interview, but I never forgot them, and I also never forgot that once a teacher at school said to me to try writing as I loved to read so many books (10 adult science fiction and/or fantasy novels day on average at age 10). It took me 37 years to make good on that teacher’s advice, but once all my books are written and published, I’ll justify that teacher’s confidence in me.
Anyway, I wanted to share this, and even though I am a new author still, I was always taught by my grandfather “give and you receive in equal measure”, so I thought I’d share the few things I’ve learned so far with other readers here. (This will make interesting reading for me in a decade or so when I can come back to this comment and see if I grew as a writer). 🙂
Sorry for the long post btw. Hope you don’t mind. 🙂
Prashanth says
Thanks very much Nathalie for that real life message. Inspired me a lot.
Vince Nakovics says
I do a short outline that I kind of transfer to Scrivener in the form of scenes. Then I make up my main characters, I give them a background and some physical specs. From there I might start writing and add to both scenes and characters as I go. I really only use the outline as a loose guide to follow.
I have only just started to write fiction novels, but this is how I am approaching them. When I sit down to write I always try to write at least 800 words. Sometimes I have two sessions a day. I have written as many as 3000 words in one day and one session.
I find that I like to write in the mornings best, but will often write when I am out and those sessions are as short or long as they are. I look at them as bonuses.
For me, shorter sessions make for a better first draft to work from. At least that is the way I feel today. This is only my second fiction novel that I am working on so all of this might change as I move ahead.
Sarah Dahl says
Great post, Joanna, BUT I disagree on one point: Please DO make a cup of tea while you’re on the writing timer! Or even just go for a pee. I find that during these brief getting ups and stretching legs breaks the brain suddenly surges with energy, thinks ahead, plots on its own, and while the coffee runs into the cup I suddenly need a notebook! 🙂 And extended: while drafting I need to go out and walk in nature, letting ideas and scenes simmer and ALWAYS the solution will come to me, unforced, or new ideas and twists pop up. Walking IS writing, seriously. Great work, Joanna.
Kira Klenke says
Thanx Joanna, I am writing pn the first draft of my first novel at the moment….
actually (so far I am (was?!) a non fiction-author) your blog articles encouraged me to start that project – thanx a lot!!
Chiara says
Hi 🙂
Thank you for the interesting article and website.
I am having difficulties in getting my first draft out which is more due to my mood swings and lack of confidence alternate to glorious moments of smooth, flowing words 🙂 I guess all of us go through this and reading encouraging words it is reassuring. Again, thank you!
My techniques are:
1. During the weekends I try to start writing as soon as I wake up, without stopping my hand, re-read or edit . At times I try to do the same before my job but I have to say that it is not easy, I managed just a couple of times for now.
2. Weekdays: I give myself a timed writing session at least 5 times a week (it can’t be longer than 30-45 mins for now)
3. The 2 points above are supposed to be internet,social media and whatever distraction possible – free.
I am an Indie author and I self published a collection of poems last year which is now in second revision, due to the fact that Pronoun shut down and I am starting again with another platform.
I am currently working on a memoir which makes the writing process, I believe, a bit more painful. The narrative goes deep into open wounds of my past, self-reflections and lessons learnt or from where I am trying to learn. Some days I feel inspired and other days I simply can’t sit my ass on a chair.
I just try not to stress too much (thing which I rarely succeed in). Reading stories of people like you helps a lot to gain a bit of self-confidence, or it is the fertile starting ground for making an attempt 🙂
We are writers and we should enjoy what we are doing, after all 🙂